Return of Shadows
by Destiny Willowleaf
Summary: Shadow Pokemon are on the rise again, and two trainers of old return to help with the crisis. Pokemon GO characters and Colosseum/XD protagonists.


**Surprise, I'm not gone yet! I've just been busy. And I'm gonna continue to be busy.**

**This was written when Shadow Pokemon were announced to be in GO, I just haven't had the time to put it up until now.**

The last time he had heard anything about Shadow Pokemon felt like ages ago. Cipher was squashed twice, both by himself and a different kid, and yet here he was, facing a grunt from a group calling themselves Team Rocket near a stop he'd seen new trainers pass by near Orre. The grunt only had a Rattata to show for, but it was the Rattata's aura that startled him.

Before, he had needed Rui's help to see the dark aura surrounding a Shadow Pokemon.

Now? Now he could see it without her nearby.

His lifelong partners, Leo and Eric – Espeon and Umbreon – were bristling, teeth bared at the sight of another Shadow Pokemon. Leo's tailtip was flicking back and forth, waiting for a signal to attack. Eric was curled closer to his legs, yellow rings glowing in warning.

"You ready to throw hands, boy?" the grunt taunted. "I've got a knuckle sandwich right here waiting for ya after me and Ratty take you out."

He kept his stare level at the grunt. "Psychic."

Leo's eyes glowed bright blue with power as he lifted the rat Pokemon off of the ground and slammed it back into the earth. The grunt's shocked face as his small attacker was crushed was nearly priceless, though it's humor faded the moment he ran from the fight and left the weakened Pokemon lying in the earth. Leo and Eric ran off to his motorcycle to grab an all too familiar device, even after all these years.

"It'll be fine in a moment," he muttered, taking the device from his friends – the Snag Machine. He pulled a Poke Ball from his coat and tossed it gently in the Snag Machine's grip. "This fight never ends, huh?" He tapped the ball to the rat's head with barely any resistance and soon the Pokemon was his. He pulled out a different device to scan the Poke Ball.

"You've been a shadow for barely a week and you're already this tired?" He ran a hand down his face. "This is… something, all right."

"Um…" A quiet voice drew the older trainer's attention. He turned to see a young teen girl – couldn't have been any older than him when he blasted Snagem's base – staring at him, with a black-and-blue catlike Pokemon at her side. "Sir? Who are you? What was that?"

"This–" He held out the ball. "–is a sign of bad news," he replied. "You got any connections that could get the word out about this?"

"What is 'this'?" she asked.

Before he got in a reply, the girl's phone buzzed and a message hologram appeared above her phone of a man. Though he had white hair, he didn't appear to be very old, and seemed to still hold the face of a youthful professor.

"Gogo? Are you getting this?"

"Loud and clear, Professor Willow." The Pokemon near her seemed to be interested in the screen as well, though that interest was still directed towards himself and his partners. The yellow star on its tail wavered impatiently for more information.

"Good. There's been sightings at a few Poke Stops recently of an organization calling themselves Team Rocket with… strange Pokemon. If you see them, call me and I will send Candela to assist you in the situation as best she can."

"Those… strange Pokemon wouldn't happen to have Shadowy auras, would they?" he butted in. "Dark and purple-ish, makes 'em look more menacing?"

"That's exactly it," the professor replied. "Who are you?"

"Name's Wes, professor. I've got the info you're after on Shadow Pokemon." He gestured to the girl, Gogo. "Turn your phone around so he can see me, why dontcha?"

She did as he asked. He stood before the hologram, partners at his side, and part of him felt like not a day had passed since the first Shadow Incident had ended. "Where's your lab?" Wes asked. "It'd be easier for me to explain there."

"It's rather remote," Willow warned.

"I've lived my life in Orre. I know remote."

"Orre?" Willow repeated. "The land of the Battle Colosseums?"

"The one and only." A sly smirk appeared on his face. "From what I've heard there's another kid who's skilled with Shadow Pokemon 'cause he took over during the second Shadow Incident."

"There's been more than one?" The professor seemed to be at least aware of Shadow Pokemon if he was concerned about more than one instance.

"Second one was worse, from what I heard. I'll explain everything there." Wes recalled Leo and Eric and gestured for Gogo to follow him. "You and your buddy's spot is the sidecar. You got goggles?"

"I have shades?"

"Put 'em on. Where to?"

Professor Willow gave him a location and with a destination set, the ex-Snagger powered up his motorcycle and made for the place. It was pretty far north of Orre, but it wasn't the furthest he'd ever gone. Just before they made it out of Orre, Wes passed by Mt. Battle and slowed the vehicle to a stop.

"What are you doing?" Gogo asked.

"It'd be nice to have a full tank before we head out." Wes tossed out Eric's Poke Ball, and gestured for the Umbreon to climb on. The dark Pokemon happily complied, jumping up his trainer's arm and curling behind his neck. "Stay here and protect my bike."

He walked through the main entryway and headed for the prize desk. The building had a few other trainers in it, sitting around and talking in low voices. The man running the desk was busy with another trainer. He couldn't tell much from the back, but the teen – looked about the right height for a teen, anyway – had a mass of spiky ginger hair on his head and a Vaporeon by his side. Based on the state of the Vaporeon, it seemed like he had just finished up a Mt. Battle challenge and was redeeming some of his points. A worn gray backpack was lamely slung over one shoulder with a black patched hole on the side.

The prize clerk eventually noticed Wes standing there and seemed confused. "I never thought we'd see you again here."

"I never thought I'd be back here," he responded. "How much for a refill?"

"How many battles are you willing to go through?" Ah, there was the reason he hated dealing with this place. The battles were long(and his team wasn't prepared) and even though it would've been easier to refill somewhere else, there were less people around to start being afraid of what was happening elsewhere.

"None today. Got business way up north that needs my expertise."

It was at that moment Wes noticed the ginger teen staring at him, frozen in a weird sort of… joy?

"No. Way." the teen whispered. "No. Freaking. Way."

"You want something?"

"Are you the legendary Wes?!" The exclamation drew the attention of the few occupants of the building. "It's such an honor to finally meet you! I'm Michael!" The teen extended his hand in greeting.

"...Should I know you?"

Michael seemed hurt. "I would think so? I kicked Cipher out the second time five years ago!"

Wes looked at the kid up and down. The reports he heard _had_ said the hero was around eleven years old, and that was five years ago… "You heard any rumors about another resurgence?"

"Another one?" Michael's voice dropped into a whisper.

Wes remembered the clerk was still there. "I'll tell you if you're in for a ride. You got a bike?"

"Yeah…" He seemed a little ashamed. "Apparently my performance on the Mountain wasn't good enough for a total freebie fill-up."

Wes turned to the clerk. "I'll pay full for both of us if you step on it in the next ten seconds."

"F-Full?!" The clerk seemed shocked, before regaining his composure. "Deal." The clerk sped out the back door and Wes saw him running to grab the pumps.

"You can really cover it?"

"I've still got a fair amount left over from my first round with those heart-lockers. Besides, the more people with experience the better." Wes pulled out Rattata's Poke Ball. "You got a scanner?"

Michael seemed to fumble for a moment before retrieving a headband-like device with a small metal box jutting off one side. He slipped the device on, and the box lit up, creating a small blue display as he looked at the Ball, then back to Wes. "You're kidding."

"Not in the slightest. Found him with a guy calling himself part of Team Rocket less than an hour ago near Outskirt Stand." Wes gravely put the Poke Ball back under his coat and dropped the payment for the fuel on the desk. Michael removed his own device and tucked it into the bag on his back. "Ready to help save the world again?"

"I… guess so," Michael replied. "It's just… they were gone, and now they're back again. You'd think twice was enough…"

"Third time's the charm?" Wes suggested, signaling for them to move outside.

"Let's hope so."

The clerk was finishing up the refills and disappeared back inside. Gogo seemed confused by Wes's new company. "Who's he?"

"Someone else that's gonna help." Wes returned Eric to his ball and threw his leg over the motorcycle, spotting Michael's ride. It looked like it had once been a simple hover scooter, but there were a few parts that looked alien to the base vehicle. "How fast can that thing go?"

"I can push it pretty fast. How far we heading?"

"It's lucky we have cycles like these," Gogo answered, briefly looking to her phone. "It's looking to be around half a day."

The teen's eyes widened. "That is longer than I expected."

"And the sooner we head out the better," Wes added. "You ready?"

"Can I call my mom first?" Michael sheepishly asked. "I don't want her to get worried 'n all."

"Go for it. Don't give her all the details, though. The less people that are freaking out, the better." Wes turned sideways on his motorcycle as Michael rushed back inside the Mt. Battle lobby. He sighed and tilted his head down to look at Gogo. "You got any last-minute needs before we go?"

"Food?"

"There's stops on the way if you're that hungry. I've got enough water stored for a couple days, which should last us."

"Are you suggesting we make it in the half-day it'd take us?"

"It's barely 10 now. We'll be there before daybreak tomorrow."

Michael came back out and got himself situated on his machine, Vaporeon looking much perkier than it had before. "My team's healed up and ready for action."

"Good. Let's move."

/\/\/\

Dust whipped by as the newly formed trio streaked across the land, whizzing by mountains and creeks and cragies, racing north to meet this Professor Willow. Michael stayed close to Wes's side, leaving enough space for reactions but still staying close so they could talk.

"What's he like?" Wes called over his shoulder.

"Professor Willow? He's nice. Helped me get started on my journey."

"Who's Candela?"

"My team leader. I'm on Valor. I'm guessing you're not on a team?"

"Not anymore."

"Anymore?"

"Blew up HQ 'bout a decade back."

"You blew it up?!"

"Well how else are you gonna stop Pokemon thieves from stealing more Pokemon?"

"Oh yeah," Michael added. "I remember hearing about that when I was little. Snagem's base was all over the news and no one had any idea who revealed 'em."

"Wait." Gogo turned to stare at Wes. "You said they were thieves?"

"Yep. And I was one of them."

"You stole Pokemon?"

"Years back, yeah. Quit the business. Best choice of my life."

The trip seemed to pass in a blur as Wes pushed his machine faster than it had gone in some time. A few Pokemon passed them by as the journey north continued, but it was mostly just empty lands from what they could see. They stayed on city outskirts when possible, ducking in once or twice to grab some food before kicking it back into high gear out on the open roads. Cities were more populated with Pokemon, with some species he had never seen. The times Gogo noticed, she had filled him in on the names, including introducing her buddy as a Luxio named Ero. Michael was more lost than he was, excitedly looking at all of the new Pokemon no one had in Orre.

Things came to a head when they were exiting one of the local food joints and he noticed a reptilian-like Pokemon. A lush bulb was rooted into its back, with large and soft red-orange eyes contrasting against blueish skin.

"Whoa." Michael stopped in his tracks to look at the Pokemon. "What's that one?"

"It's a Bulbasaur," Gogo called back. "Apparently it's a popular starter."

"A Bulbasaur, huh?" Michael crouched slightly to get a better look. "It's really cute!"

Gogo's face shifted to one of confusion. "Have… you never seen a Bulbasaur before?"

"I literally didn't know its name until fifteen seconds ago. You don't get Pokemon like these in Orre." He gently extended a hand. "I wanna pet it."

"Just what kind of land IS Orre?" she muttered. "Do you know Sentret?"

"Nope."

"Magikarp."

"Sounds watery."

"Pikachu. You've GOT to know Pikachu."

Michael stood back up, not having gotten anywhere with the Bulbasaur. "Yeah. There was this old guy who had one. His name's escaping me right now…"

"Eagun?" Wes suggested.

"Yeah… yeah, that was the guy!" He smiled a bit. "He was weird. I think his Pikachu only knew Thunderbolt."

"He's my friend's grandfather." Wes relaxed a bit as his mind drifted to Rui. It had been a while since they had a chance to talk, after she left Orre to get more information on psychic powers and aura abilities. His mind soon returned to the task at hand. "We should finish up here and get moving again."

"If you say so. Bye Bulbasaur!"

The harsh desert sun gave way a fast-cooling night, stars rising as the sky turned dark. The lights on the bikes kicked on, their shine still dim in the growing evening on the path to the currently-mysterious Professor Willow. Time was blending together as more lush trees and grasslands came into view, with a mountain's peak barely visible over the treeline.

Wes slowed his bike to a stop and guided it along. Michael followed soon after, opening a Pokeball with an Ampharos inside. "Let's go, Chris."

"Chris?" Wes repeated.

"Short for Crystal."

"Mhm."

"We're not too far now, right?"

"Not really," Gogo replied. "You don't mind trailers, right?"

Wes and Michael shrugged as they moved into a clearing where a few other individuals were waiting. The most identifiable was Professor Willow, who glanced up as they rustled past a bush. Besides him, four others stood and watched in confusion, though one of the others – a guy that looked similar to Gogo – waved to her. Wes and Michael glanced to each other and Michael shrugged a little. Wes turned back to the group and stepped forward.

"Sup." Leo and Eric leapt out of their Poke Balls to be by their master's side and caused a gasp from one of the members of their "audience". Wes squinted in the partial darkness to see the owner of the sound, lifting his visor and spotting a familiar face in the low lighting. "Hey hey, Sparkplug, didn't think I'd be seeing you out here!"

"Wes?" The person stepped into better lighting, all 74 inches of his black-and-yellow scheme visible out of the shadows. "That can't be. There's no way you're the same Wes who called me a squirt for years, now could it?"

"The one and the same," he replied. "Solder still with you?"

He reached to his belt and gently tossed a Poke Ball out, and from within a Jolteon leapt out to see what was going on. Cautiously, the Jolteon inched to Leo, both Eeveelutions inspecting the other before the Jolteon let out a joyful trill as he rubbed against the other. "Partners to the end." A smile appeared on the taller man's face. "Spark and Solder, the lightning-fast twins!"

Wes cracked a smile and opened his arms, leaving Spark to rush in and hug him. "Missed you, lil bro."

"If you missed me so much then why'd you never come back?"

"Didn't know where you were gonna be. It's been…" Wes mentally ticked off the years. "Geez, almost fourteen years since I jumped on that ship? I wouldn't have known where to start."

Spark squeezed him tighter for a moment before backing off. "You could've just asked you-know-who."

"I doubt he'd be happy to see me."

"You'd be surprised."

"I'm sorry to interrupt this." One of the other people in the area spoke up. A woman with darker skin, wearing red and white clothes. Seemed all-around fiery. "But Spark when were you gonna tell us you had an older brother?"

"If he ever showed up," Spark replied. "Wes, I'd like you to meet my fellow Team Leaders!"

"You've got your own team?"

"Yeah! It was Professor Willow's idea to inspire a bit of competition within Trainers. I'm the head of Instinct, Candela–" He pointed to the woman who had spoken up before. "–is the leader of Team Valor, and Blanche–" Pointing to the only one who hadn't really moved or spoken, Blanche looked up and gave a small wave. "–is the leader of Team Mystic."

"You got mascots?"

"The Titans," Blanche replied, causing Michael to perk up. "Articuno represents my team, calm and collected as we research the different pieces of evolution and the wisdom of Pokemon themselves. Moltres is for the battle-focused Team Valor. Team Instinct has a focus on the instincts of Pokemon as well as breeding, with their representative being Zapdos."

"What about their leader?" Michael blurted out.

"Lugia?"

"Y-Yeah." Michael drew back again. "You'd think there'd be some sort of unifying force between the three teams like the birds, right?"

"There… is an unrecognized team that uses Lugia as a mascot," Blanche began. "They call themselves Team Harmony, not siding with one of the main teams to encourage further teamwork and trying to not create as many divisions. The story goes that since Lugia is the master of the Titans, members of Team Harmony wish to unite the other teams as the Sea Guardian did with the Titans. Why do you ask?"

Michael twiddled his fingers. "I know there's multiple of the birds and the others out there, but…" He trailed off. "It's just…"

"Yes?"

"I've seen them turned into Shadow Pokemon." The interest of the rest of the group heightened. "Cipher captured a trio of the birds and turned them to Shadow Pokemon about five years ago. I took them back and repaired the damage, but seeing what they can do when there's no restraint? Being told to attack and not having a heart to prevent further damages? It's terrifying."

The group was silent for a moment. "So, it's true then," Professor Willow whispered. "Shadow Pokemon have… returned."

"You're right on the money," Wes confirmed, pulling out Rattata's Poke Ball. "Found a guy claiming to be part of Team Rocket using this guy in battle, and I haven't let it out since recapture."

"Recapture?"

"It sounds nicer than Snagging," he admitted. "I used one of my own Poke Balls and made Rattata my Pokemon instead of that Grunt's. He wasn't taking any care of it and it looked worn out even before Leo laid a paw on him."

"Well…" The guy who had waved to Gogo earlier spoke up. "Let's see it?"

Wes nodded, signaling to Leo and Eric to be at the ready. "Best make a barrier so we don't lose it." The others picked up on his small cue, letting out a Pokemon each to help form a ring. Gogo recalled Ero and sent out an odd white plane-like Pokemon, Spark motioned for Solder to stand by the other two Eeveelutions, Michael tossed in Vaporeon, Blanche sent Empoleon, Candela added Typhlosion, and the weird guy threw in a Raichu. Wes clicked the button on the face of the Poke Ball to let the rat free, and it bolted out of his hand to begin scurrying around the area, but was soon met with much taller opposition. The rat tried to intimidate the other Pokemon, but a small growl from Raichu soon deterred it. The shadow aura from before was still present, though it wasn't as vivid as when Wes had caught it. Traveling must've made an impact to lower the barrier.

"It seems lost," Spark commented. "Like it was snatched from its parent before it knew the world."

"Wouldn't be surprised if it was," Wes remarked. "I've seen some nasty things done to Shadow Pokemon over the years."

The Rattata continued to move about, until it had seemingly calmed down and gotten used to the presence of other Pokemon on all sides, investigating the new sights and smells.

"So that aura is a sign of Shadow Pokemon?" Blanche asked.

"Exactly," Michael replied, pulling out his device. "I used a scanner to see which was the Shadow before, but now it's just out for everyone to see."

Professor Willow watched the Rattata's movements, jotting down its actions and the appearance of the Pokemon. Wes quietly walked over to see what he had written, but it was in chicken scratch. Of course a professor would have messy handwriting. From what he could make out, the professor definitely knew about Shadow Pokemon before this happened. As far as Wes knew, word about Shadow Pokemon barely made it out of Orre, and he didn't recognize the professor from his trip around the more habitable parts of the region

"We should bring it inside," the professor suggested. "Would you-"

"On it," Spark replied. He reached into a bag and pulled out thick leather gloves and slowly approached the Shadow Pokemon, making himself a part of the ring. "Hey there, little buddy." Spark's voice was gentle and soft, almost as if he was babying the thing.

The Rattata seemed wary of the new thing at first, but on a few more passes it got closer. Spark lowered himself to the ground to be at eye level with the Pokemon, gently extending a hand. "You want a lift?" The Rattata approached the hand, and just when it looked like it was going to crawl in, it took a large bite into the glove. Spark didn't flinch, or make a pained noise. "It's alright," he said. "I've dealt with way worse."

"And I thought I was bad," Wes muttered.

"Shush, you." Spark turned back to the Rattata. "I won't hurt you. I want to help you."

They seemed to wait there for minutes on end before the Pokemon climbed into Spark's hand. He gently scooped his other hand next to it, barely holding the rat in his palms. Spark brought his arms in close to effectively cradle it and made his way to the trailer-lab. Probably for analysis, if Wes had to guess. Professor Willow followed shortly after, gathering up a few papers before joining the leader.

"Is he usually that good about being bit?" Wes asked once Spark left. "I don't remember him taking it well when we were younger." Granted, it had been nearly fourteen years and people changed, but...

"Spark's working on breeding," Candela replied. "He's used to all sorts of things."

"So what's this about Shadows?" The guy spoke up.

"It's a long story, Go," Gogo said. Go… and Gogo. Really creative names there.

"And you don't know the half of it," Wes continued. "But I'm gonna keep things short: an organization called Cipher sealed Pokemon's hearts to make them war machines. I stopped them the first time, Michael stopped them the second time, and now there's Shadow Pokemon on the rise again and it ain't Cipher at the front this time."

"As far as I know," Michael added. "There's only ever been one sucessful total lock. XD001." He shuddered a bit as he said the name.

"What's XD001?" Blanche asked.

"It was a Lugia." Wes felt his body nearly freeze up. "A Lugia taken and corrupted nearly beyond recognition. Its white scales were black and there were things that a Lugia shouldn't have had. Lorvina was constantly bragging that it was immune to purification, being the ultimate Shadow Pokemon."

"That explains why you were asking about it earlier," Candela commented. "The Guardian of the Seas and its Titans being turned against the world…"

"It's not called that for nothin'," Michael sighed. "Everyone started hearing about it when it picked up a cruise ship full of Pokemon and dropped it smack-dab in the desert. Crewmen were tossed overboard and never found. Apparently they lost control of it for that moment."

"It wasn't just the Titans that got turned to Shadow," Wes added, trying to suppress the feeling growing in the back of his throat. "There were tons of 'em. Metagross, Tyranitar, Vibrava... Took ages to get them back to normal, even with Celibi's help at the end." It probably wouldn't help to bring up the Beasts now.

"CELIBI?!" Go and Gogo shouted. Wes's eyes went wide at their shout, though it looked like the team leaders were shocked too.

"There was a shrine out in the forest. I did most of the work loosening the grip of the metaphorical lock on a Pokemon's heart and Celibi could break them out of being a Shadow." Wes crossed his arms and shut his eyes. "I dunno how a time traveling spirit fairy could break the chains on a heart but it didn't really matter at the time." All that mattered was fixing his mistakes.

"Technically it's a Grass and Psychic type," Blanche said. "Though I can see why you would see it as a Fairy type."

"A what."

"Fairy type. It was discovered and accepted recently in–" Blanche raised an eyebrow. "How did you not know?"

"Orre's a secluded place," Michael replied. "Heck I didn't know what a Bulbasaur was until midway through our path up here."

"_That probably wasn't the best time for that,"_ Wes thought to himself, noticing the confused reactions of Go and the two leaders. He sighed before continuing aloud, "Wild Pokemon were a thing of myth in Orre until about five years back. Everyone on my team was either brought from home or stolen Shadows."

"And I'm about half-and-half," Michael added, gesturing to his Vaporeon. "Oriol was from my dad, an' Dusty and Thomas were from the wild. Chris, Callie, and Arkos were Shadows."

"So Vaporeon's name is Oriol?" Gogo asked. "...I like it."

The trailer's door opened up, letting yellow light shine on the dark ground, followed by Spark popping his head out. "Professor Willow said you guys should come in," he called. An odd squeak erupted from inside the vehicle, drawing Spark's attention back. "Rattata _please_ stay still I'll be right there!" Spark shut the door again and it wasn't hard to head footsteps inside rushing away.

"...We should go," Candela suggested. The others nodded in agreement with some more enthusiastic than others, and gently nudged open the trailer door.

The area was fairly cramped, with six people standing in the doorway and the rest didn't seem much more open. Papers covered almost every tabletop and inch of counter space, and took up parts of the floor space too. From what Wes could read of the chicken scratch, they seemed to be notes and reports from various trainers. Various lines connected the sheets; was he trying to make sense of something?

It was then he noticed how frantically Professor Willow seemed to be moving in the back, sliding between trainer's calls. He seemed to be reassuring them that things were fine and not to panic over… whatever was happening. Spark shuffled towards the group with the Rattata in his arms.

"There's been more sightings," Spark explained. "Trainers unsure what to do and us too busy to help." He scratched a spot on the Pokemon's head absentmindedly. "We need to know everything."

"Strap yourselves in, then," Wes replied. "Like I said, Shadow Pokemon as I know 'em were made by an organization called Cipher. Team Snagem would steal people's Pokemon to be turned to Shadows, and then depending on the Pokemon, they were distributed among the grunts and admins in both groups. I used to snag Pokemon as a living, but I left." He lifted his left arm. "This hunk of metal is a portable Snag Machine. You slip it on and input your code, and any Poke Ball you toss becomes a Snag Ball. It can catch and overwrite the original owner's information."

"The scientists at the HQ Lab made another one," Michael continued. "It came with an aura reader so I could identify a Shadow Pokemon to take it back. Professor Krane made it in case there was another Shadow incident. And a Purify Chamber!"

"How'd it work?"

"It kinda looked like those do-it-yourself healing stations in Pokemon Centers, or the things Nurse Joy would put your Poke Balls in to heal 'em up. You set them up in a weakness chain and that's make the tempo or something and it'd unlock their hearts faster. Definitely made me memorize the weakness charts."

"Mhm." Wes turned back to the others. "I didn't have anything fancy like that. There was this thing in Agate Village called the Relic Stone, and when I brought Sol there after having him on my team for a while, Celibi just sort of… appeared, and restored him back to a regular ol' Bayleaf."

"You have a Bayleaf?" Go asked.

"Meganium now, but yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"You said Leo and Eric were your partners, right? Bringing on Bayleaf must've made you a sitting duck for bugs."

"Not really," Wes shrugged. "Eric's not too shabby at taking hits and Leo's quick enough to hit them with a Return. That's not the point, though." He took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "I didn't catch all of the Pokemon that were turned to Shadows, mind you. Just a couple more notable ones. It was unsettling to see the Beasts, though."

Spark spoke up. "Wait, like Suicune and Entei and-"

"Yeah. There were four admins in Cipher." Wes held four fingers in the air, ticking off as he listed names. "Venus had Suicune, Dakim had Entei, and Ein had Raikou."

"I thought it was Rai-koo."

"It's Rai-koh."

"Not the point," Wes interrupted. He'd seen those arguments go on for ages before and now was NOT the time. "The last admin was… weird. He had all these Ludicolo-"

"Wait, Miror B. was a Cipher admin?" Michael asked. "I thought he was just some weirdo with a taste for Shadow Pokemon."

"He got the short end of the stick. Sudowoodo when the others got the Beasts."

"Honestly I'm not even surprised," he sighed. "Guess that's why he wanted to start his own team."

Wes shrugged and ran through everything he had shared. "Right. And there's one more thing."

"Another thing?"

"Shadow Pokemon are fiercer than anything you've ever seen. They hit harder, move faster, battle better, and seem stronger. They don't like listening to orders and I've seen them attack Pokemon on their own side, breaking orders and acting on their own terms. I've had them attack me before, both before and after recapture."

"Which means novice trainers shouldn't have access to them," Michael continued. "It was a pain to keep control of them and I felt like I was just calling out to them constantly so they'd stop fighting each other and actually fight the enemy. Between our times, they got better at making Shadow Pokemon, but what's worrying is how they're making them NOW."

"What do you mean?" Gogo asked.

"When I was dealing with Cipher, I ran into a place called the Cipher Key Lair. It was their factory for making Shadow Pokemon, and I shut it down. From what I heard, Dragonite was the last thing Shadow'd there and no others were made after it."

"You think the facility got restarted?" Wes suggested.

"Can't be. Place was ransacked and destroyed not too long after Cipher was out. I remember Ardos saying something about how Cipher wasn't going to die, though…" Michael paused. "If he's teamed up with this Team Rocket, he's gonna be high in the food chain and he needs to be taken out."

Professor Willow stepped up from his computer to join the conversation. "Wes, Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Yes sir?"

"I understand that we don't want to cause a panic, but I think trainers need to be informed of the situation. They're confused and frightened, uncertain of what's happening."

The two Orrians looked to the gathered group of trainers and leaders. "We need a plan," Wes stated. "You can't go in blind against these guys."

"We should track reports," Spark suggested. "If there's a trainer that calls in with a sighting, record the place and time and have them prepare to battle."

"It'd be best if they caught the Pokemon, too," Candela added. "The more Shadow Pokemon in our hands, the better."

"The last step would be purification, correct?" Blanche reaffirmed. "We must find a manageable way for trainers to unlock their hearts."

"What about stardust and candy?" Go asked. "If they can be used to evolve a Pokemon, and power them up, wouldn't it make sense that it might help purify them too?"

"Maybe," Gogo replied. "We'd have to test and find out."

"We have Rattata," Wes said. "I dunno what this candy stuff is, but I can give it a try." It sounded like a weird way to go about things, but time was of the essence, and the faster a widespread solution was found, the better.

Spark nodded and made his way to one of the cabinets, grabbing a few sparkling pink vials and a handful of spherical purple candies. "How much do you think we'll need?"

"Probably not too much," Blanche replied. "More than a powerup on the stardust."

Spark nodded and placed the vials and a small pile of candy on one of the tables. "So how should we do this?"

Wes moved to the table to look at the vials. "How does it work when you're evolving something?"

"It's… odd," Blanche admitted. "When the Pokemon eats enough of the candy for its species, it goes through the evolution process."

"And the stardust?"

"Powering up a Pokemon," Candela said. "Candy's used there too."

"Mhm." Wes turned to the Rattata, and grab a couple of the candies. "Eat up, bud."

The Rattata looked between the candies and the trainer, before taking a small nibble of one of the candies. Apparently it was good, considering how fast it chomped down the rest of the candy and started on the other. It sat content when the candies were gone.

"I guess now we try the stardust?" Wes carefully took one of the vials in hand and slowly unscrewed the glass container. He held up a hand between the dust and the Pokemon, making a small ring around the rat. The stardust immediately began to glow.

"It's working," Wes noted. "Cover your eyes."

The glow shone brighter and brighter, filling the room until it died back down. The shadowy aura around the Rattata vanished and nearly sparkled from the new light.

"Hey," he said, holding out a hand to the Pokemon. "Nice to see you like this."

The Rattata looked at his hand and soon shoved its head into it, like a cat begging for pets. "He likes you," Spark commented.

"I would hope so," Wes replied. "Alright, buddy, you're coming with me." Wes opened Rattata's Poke Ball and recalled the small rodent inside. "At least we know it works."

"Hopefully we won't need the Snag Machine to get Shadows," Michael commented.

"Yeah."

As Wes held the Poke Ball in his hand, he thought he felt a wave of darkness passing over. Shadow Pokemon were back. Cipher was nowhere to be seen. Rattata was only the beginning of something bigger.

"Let's go."


End file.
